Author: Don Gerrity

Does Jude Refute OSAS?

Don Gerrity Jude
Does Jude Refute OSAS?

The letter of Jude was Jesus’ Earthly brother and his writing in the Bible in Jude does not in any way dispute OSAS when read in proper context.

Jude is warning these believers against the FALSE TEACHERS creeping into the early church. These false teachers were saying that because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins that we can go ahead and sin all we want now without consequences. And the mention of Genesis 6 (where Angels had sexual relations with daughters of men), as well as Genesis 19 (about Sodom) shows that an immoral sexual behavior was involved in the teaching of these false teachers. They are straight out rebelling against God’s authority and teaching others to do the same. Believer’s have freedom in Christ from the penalty of our sins but we also have the indwelling Spirit if God working on our sanctification and this is definitely not the attitude of a real believer.

The context of Jude is the sin and complete condemnation of UNBELIEVING Godless people. An unbeliever has one nature called The Flesh (our sin nature). A true believer of Christ  has two natures; the sinful Flesh nature and the Newly Created Spirit of God. A war begins within a believer because the Flesh wants to sin but the Spirit of God now indwelling the believer is the seed of God and never sins (1 John 3:9). When a believer sins, a conviction about it comes from the Holy Spirit within that gnaws at us and helps us to change our mind (Repent) about the act and acknowledge it as a sin which we CONFESS and agree with God. We do not lose our Salvation in this. It is a part of our sanctification until we receive our new resurrected bodies without the Flesh nature in the future. Just as Paul had, it is a real struggle (Romans 7).

Jude was not writing about people who had lost their salvation from the church age! It is a completely different context in Jude. Jude writes about the unbelievers in Exodus. It is not even talking about Salvation by the grace of God to the church although Salvation is foreshadowed. Also, looking at verse 6, we see again the context does not fit the church age believers. He is talking all about fallen angels from Genesis 6 and not about humans who lost salvation. What is the letter of Jude all about? Unbelief and rebellion.

We see here that Jude is encouraging believers in the church age to keep the faith in the free gift of Salvation by faith in Christ alone. And to FIGHT the FALSE TEACHERS. The very idea or teaching that now Christ died for us, that we should go on sinning BECAUSE OF IT, shows the unbelief of these false teachers about what Christ did for us on that cross in the first place.

Yes! Believers on the atonement by Christ for our sins are saved but that does not mean they will not sin nor that they will not struggle with sin. But instead of feeling this fight of the Two Natures inside a believer, these FALSE TEACHERS are not even believers. They intellectually understand Salvation but totally miss the mark and do not have the struggle of Romans 7 within them.

“But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the MERCY of our Lord Jesus Christ UNTO ETERNAL LIFE.” (Jude 20-21 KJV)

Salvation is a gift to be received (Ephesians 2:8-9) and not something that we earn. Only the atonement for sins through Christ crucified saves us. It is not our self righteous efforts. Salvation is by BELIEF on Christ alone. Jesus Himself said,

“He that BELIEVIETH ON HIM is not condemned: but he that BELIEVETH NOT is condemned ALREADY, because he hath not BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18 KJV)

This belief must be REAL though and not just intellectual belief. Judas Iscariot had intellectual belief and even lived with Jesus during His Earthly ministry. Yet, Judas did not really believe.

Christ paid for the sins of the whole world right? Yet, does that mean that unbelievers are saved? No.  Does that mean we can just go sin all we want now and that it is just okay to do such without consequences? Paul tells us in Romans 10,

“What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye WERE the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then MADE FREE from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” (Romans 10:15-18 KJV)

Before belief on Christ we were Servants of the Flesh alone…servants of sin. After we believed on Christ alone God MADE US FREE FROM SIN and Servants to RIGHTEOUSNESS. This obeying is not of the Law unto Salvation but it is obeying in belief on Christ to save us. The obedience here is belief on Christ and not Law keeping to save us. Now freed from sin through Christ’s atonement on the cross, we HAVE BECOME servants of righteousness. We were given the very righteousness of God in Christ and our lives will change from the new inner man (over time the Holy Spirit guides us and by the renewing of the mind by the Word of God this belief works it’s way outwardly it our life as good works).

Apostle Paul is teaching us all that since we are saved by God’s Grace, that we should be living by the spirit that Christ provided in us. This Spirit of God is the NEW US. Jude is telling these particular believers, where false teachers were creeping in, that they should KEEP the faith and press toward being Holy because the new indwelling Spirit in every believer is Holy. We receive the newly created Spirit of God within us from the very moment of our belief on Christ alone to save us (Paul taught us that in Ephesians 1:13-14), by the only atonement for sin that the Christ provided on the cross; our being born again in the Spirit. Paul tells us to “…Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16 KJV)

These false teachers were not saved because of their unbelief. They are not believers who lost Salvation. There is no mention of loss of Salvation found in Jude that I can see.

John 14:15 : What Commandments Was Jesus Referring To? The Ten Commandments?

Don Gerrity John | 1 John, Q&A: Difficult Passages, Q&A: The Truth About...
John 14:15 : What Commandments Was Jesus Referring To? The Ten Commandments?

Jesus said,
“15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15 KJV)


#1: Jesus Was Not Referring To The Ten Commandments


Watching the context closely in John, it is clear that Jesus was NOT referring to The Ten Commandments, nor the whole Law of Moses. Jesus was most definitely not referring to the Law of Moses because He has already FULFILLED those as we see in the next chapter. Remember that chapters were not part of the original writings. They were added for our referencing later. It is to be read as one continuous writing and we see in John 15:

“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” (John 15:10 KJV)

Notice the words Jesus uses here. He is showing TWO DIFFERENT sets of commandments. We are to abide in JESUS’ COMMANDMENTS. During Jesus’ life, under the Old Covenant, Jesus had to be sinless and that meant that HE had to keep ALL THE LAW OF MOSES, a feat no human has ever done without fail. He had to keep them all so that He could be the ONCE FOR ALL sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10) for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD (1 John 2:2). Jesus kept His Father’s Commandments (The Law) perfectly.

Now once Jesus died on the cross, the New Covenant REPLACED the Old Covenant. Jesus’ >NEW< commandments under the New Covenant is found a chapter before in John 13:34-35 KJV:

“34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:34-35 KJV)

The context of a chapter earlier makes it clear that these are the commandments Jesus’ is speaking about HIS NEW COMMANDMENTS. Jesus says this because if we love each other, not as the world loves, but as Jesus loves us, then we too fulfill the law through love. Our NEW SOURCE is the Holy Spirit within. Walking by the newly created Spirit in us after Salvation,
will we want to murder?, Will we want to covet, steal etc.?

Look at this Scripture in Romans 13:10 KJV:

“10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

#2 This Scripture Should Not Be Taken As A Threat Of Loss Of Salvation

Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15 KJV)

Notice that Jesus did NOT say, ‘You must keep my commandments if you love me.’ Nor did Jesus say, ‘You must keep my commandments to remain saved’.  Yet, I see some believers stating that is what this verse means. TO make this statement o Jesus to mean either of these is to ignore proper context. This is actually very important. Jesus was very clear when He spoke and how He spoke matters. We need to watch how He states things very closely.

In Ephesians 2:8-9, Apostle Paul made it clear that Salvation is not of ourselves nor our works. Our Salvation does not rely on our self righteous efforts in being a good person nor by not sinning. Yes, we should avoid sinning. Of course! But is being legalistic and Law keeping the way to not sin? Absolutely NOT! Using Law keeping to make you saved and keep you saved is a belief headed for complete failure. Thinking this statement by Jesus, in John 14:15, is a threat of loss of Salvation is to hear these words in a very legalistic way, based on our own efforts to keep us saved. It is no different than relying on keeping the Law of Moses to justify us before God and Apostle Paul is clear that the truth is the opposite!

“Knowing this, that the law is NOT MADE FOR A RIGHTEOUS MAN, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,” (1 Timothy 1:9 KJV)

 

“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall NO FLESH BE JUSTIFIED in his sight: for by the law is the KNOWLEDGE OF SIN.” (Romans 3:20 KJV)

 

“Moreover the law entered, that the offence MIGHT ABOUND. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:” (Romans 5:20)

 

“The sting of death is sin; and the STRENGTH OF SIN IS THE LAW.” (1 Corinthians 15:56 KJV)

What does Jesus mean by this then? If one only reads this one verse, yet ignores the rest of the book of John they can be very wrong in their interpretation. If you read just Chapter 13 and 14, then this verse in John 14:15 become much clearer.

Earlier in John 13:34 we see Jesus state this,

“A new commandment I give unto you, ++ That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”  (John 13:34 KJV)

And if you continue reading into Chapter 14, just before He states verse 15, you see Jesus say this,

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

 

Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

 

Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

Two key commands Jesus gave in John 13 and 14 and these are precisely the commands Jesus is referring to in John 14:15.


#3 KEEP VS OBEY : NIV Translation Has It Wrong.

Corrupt new modern Bible versions have added to the confusion regarding John 14:15 because they mistranslated.

John 14 New International Version (NIV):

“23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will OBEY my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”

John 14 KJV/NASB:

“23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will KEEP my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him”

John 14:23 New American Standard Bible (NASB):

“23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will KEEP My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.”

The NIV has it wrong. The word is KEEP….NOT OBEY! And no, it is not the same meaning. How do we know that? Look at the Greek:

The word TO KEEP in both Hebrew and Greek does NOT mean “to obey” or “do”.

The Hebrew word for KEEP IS ‘Shamar’ in the KJV, NKJV, and NASB Bible translations and means ‘to keep, to observe, to take heed to, to preserve, to be a watchman, and to regard.’

The Greek word for KEEP is ‘teereo’ and means ‘to keep, to guard, to watch, to preserve, to reserve, to take care of, to keep watch over, and to hold fast.’

“Consult all the Greek Lexicons you wish. Take a good look at Moulton and Milligan, Thayer’s, Vines, Liddell and Scott or the Bauer, Arndt and Gingrich Greek lexicons. They all list the meanings of this Greek word teereo as “to keep, to preserve, to observe, to give heed to, to guard, to hold, to not lose, to protect, to hold firmly” but not one of them lists “to obey” or “to do” as being one of the definitions of this Greek word. ”
(Quoted from Will Kinney at http://brandplucked.webs.com/tokeepvstoobey.htm)

 

 

 

Does Revelation 22:19 show us that a person can lose their Salvation as some are teaching?

Don Gerrity Q&A: Bible Prophecy & End Times, Revelation
Does Revelation 22:19 show us that a person can lose their Salvation as some are teaching?

“And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” (Revelation 22:19 KJV)

Q: Does Revelation 22:19 show us that a person can lose their Salvation as some are teaching?

A: No.

In this verse we see the book of life is mentioned. It also states God shall take away the person’s part from the Book of Life. So it is a Salvation issue to be sure. The question is, does this apply to believers?

First, notice that it does not say ‘if any believer’ or ‘if any brethren’ shall take away the words. No it states if ‘ANY MAN’ shall take away. So this applies to ANYONE, not just believers.

A believer in Christ bases His whole faith on the Word of God. As believers we may have issues of wrongly interpreting a passage but that is not the same as actually changing the words themselves! Unfortunately, today we see that this is happening with most modern Bible translations, especially the new NIV Bible that so many church leaders are now using! I will not get into this large topic for the purpose of this article but there is a truth here every believer must hear and understand. That truth is that, if the devil wants to deceive people and stop them from believing the knowledge of truth of Salvation in Christ by faith alone and not by works, what will he try to do? He will try to deceive and what greater way is there to deceive but to create modern Bible versions that changes words so drastically, even about the very foundations of the faith in Christ, and to cause division and misunderstanding.

Second, this verse does not state if any man take away any words ‘from the entire Bible…’  We see here that this verse of warning is very specific to  “the words of the book of THIS prophecy“. This is a warning about changing the words in the Book of Revelation in specific. The Book of Revelation has very specific language and imagery that can only be understood by comparing other Scriptures in the Bible to it. It is then that we can get clearer pictures of what it is saying in the prophecies for the end times in particular.  Change the words, and the meaning can be said to be anything a person wants. As with all Scripture, God preserves His Word!

This verse in Revelation 22:19 is a very stern warning to anyone. The book of Prophecy in Revelation is very important to warn unbelievers and to show believers what will happen, as well as the blessing it will bring to Israel and those who become believers during the Tribulation period (the worst period of time to live within in all of history).

During the Tribulation Period the Antichrist will be doing everything he can to deceive the people on Earth and that includes those who have become believers on Christ during this horrible period of time. He may try to change the words of the time the prophecy is regarding. Censorship will likely be put into place. Just think how Hitler duped the German people. He used deception right? He created issues and then came along and solved them, to make people believe this guy has the answers. Although conjecture only on my part, it may also have something to do with the great deception to take place during this time period as well. Maybe that is why Jesus gives this stern warning. Whatever the case, Jesus made the warning with a purpose and that is for sure.

Before this warning is given, Jesus tells John to write down a blessing to believers in the first seven verses. So first we are told there is a blessing for believers who are paying attention to the Prophecy in the Book of Revelation. Not all Christians read this book of the Bible. Many find it hard to understand and the imagery is confusing as well. The problem is that even the majority of Christian church religions do not preach on the Book Of Revelation nor Bible Prophecy at all. They are worried more about their church membership and maybe ‘not getting it right’. And also they themselves have difficulty in understanding it all. Yet, with 1/3 of all Scriptures referring to Bible Prophecy and Jesus Himself teaching it during His Earthly ministry; don’t you think it is important to God that we do study it?

Those that do are eagerly looking for the Lord’s Return and the Blessed Hope of the Rapture where we attain our new glorified resurrected bodies as promised in Ephesians 1:14. God has a special blessing for these believers. God tells us that we are to WATCH.

In stark contrast to the warning in verse 19 is a blessing in verse 7 that is specifically addressed to believers of Salvation through faith alone in Christ, who are reading and studying the words of the Book Of Revelation. The very first verses in Revelation 22 are showing us a glimpse of what Heaven will be like, the New Jerusalem, to give us a hope of the amazing things to come for believers of Christ:

“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.  In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” (Revelation 22:1-7 KJV)

Keeping the sayings and words of this Prophecy surely does bless the believer. It is an amazing future God has in store for all who accept Salvation through the only atonement for our sins; belief in Christ Jesus for our Salvation (John 3:18). Jesus told us that in our Earthly life right now we will have struggles and times of tribulation.

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 KJV)

Apostle Paul tells us that the struggles and strife and even persecution that believers will face in life are nothing in comparison to what God has planned for the believers future! For what God will reveal in our lives at that glorious future time.

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18 KJV)

 

 

Did Jesus Die For Our Sins So That Us Bad People Could Become Good People?

Don Gerrity Q&A: Christian Living, Q&A: Salvation
Did Jesus Die For Our Sins So That Us Bad People Could Become Good People?

The Scriptures are very clear that this is actually not the case. Instead what we see is that the Bible is always reading in terms of us being ‘dead’ or ‘alive’. This is an important point to consider about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, otherwise we can be caught up in wrong teaching about Salvation and placing our ongoing sanctification after our moment of Salvation back in as a requirement of our justification with God through Christ.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells us of the story of the Prodigal Son who returned home. He had taken His Father’s inheritance early and went away doing all sorts of wrong living until the money ran out and he found himself in a pig’s pen eating as the pigs did. It is then he came to his senses and knowing he was very wrong in what he did he went back to his Father’s house to tell him that he was not worthy to be his son and ask if he could live as one of his servants. Yet as he approached the estate he seen his Father a long way off running toward him who then embraced him lovingly, without even hear what had happened to the son. We see what happens when his brother who never left his Father’s side all this time sees this and gets upset.

“21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

24 For this my son WAS DEAD, and is ALIVE AGAIN; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.

26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.

27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.

28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.

29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:

30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.

32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother WAS DEAD, and is ALIVE AGAIN; and was lost, and is found.” (Luke 15: 21-32 KJV)

In verse 24 and 32, one might expect it to say something along the lines of  ‘the son had gone BAD and now has become GOOD’ but that is not what the text reads. Instead Jesus uses the contrast of one who is DEAD who has become ALIVE. This is the theme we start seeing throughout the Scriptures in regards to our Salvation and Justification with our loving God.

We see this again in this passage of Scripture:

“And you, being DEAD IN YOUR SINS and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you ALL TRESPASSES; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, NAILING IT TO HIS CROSS; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.” Colossians 2:13-18 KJV)

And in this wonderful passage of good news for believers the word ‘ALL’ in the Greek is  Strongs # G3956: πᾶς pâs, pas; including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole:—all (manner of, means), alway s), any (one), × daily, + ever, every (one, way), as many as, + no(-thing), X thoroughly, whatsoever, whole, whosoever.

This word ‘ALL’ is telling us ALL our sins committed in the past, present and also in our future have all be paid for by Christ on the cross. ALL MEANS ALL.

If our Salvation had a requirement that we are changing from a bad person to a good person through our own efforts, even if done in gratitude for what Christ has done for us, that is a false teaching because it is Christ who paid for our sins – not us after our Salvation. We cannot be the mediator between man and God. That position is reserved for Jesus Christ alone.

“For there is ONE God,and ONE mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;  Who gave himself A RANSOM for all, to be testified in due time.  (1 Timothy 2: 5-6 KJV)

I love the Book of Hebrews and in Hebrews 10:14 is a very clear statement regarding our Salvation through faith in Christ alone:

“For by ONE OFFERING he hath PERFECTED FOR EVER them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;” (Hebrews 10:14-16 KJV)

I ask you, who gave this ONE OFFERING? Was it you or me? No it was Jesus Christ on the cross. Being a ONE offering that perfected us for ever, do we then make being a good person after our Salvation a requirement of staying saved? I am making a point here because it is so important to understand. Christ paid it all my friends!

On the cross Jesus cried out “IT IS FINISHED”. And of you look at the Greek it literally means ‘DEBT PAID IN FULL’. What debt? Our debt of sins against God. Jesus did not make a partial payment on that cross! He made a FULL and COMPLETE payment for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD and as we read Jesus’ own words,

“…whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:15-18 KJV)

Apostle Paul tells us the very same thing stating very clearly that “…he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be MADE the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV) You see, we are MADE the righteousness of God in Christ; not that we work our way to being a good person in hopes of becoming nor staying righteous positionally before God. That is a very big difference!

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10 KJV)

The word JUSTIFIED as used in the Scriptures is an interesting word. In Greek it means ‘to declare, pronounce, one to be just, righteous’. So this is God declaring a person is justified and righteous once they believe on Christ alone for their Salvation.

Salvation and Justification with God are only by BELIEF and FAITH in the only atonement available for our sins which is Christ crucified. Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, who is God in the flesh who was born of the Virgin Mary, who, as God, lived a sinless life in thought and deed and then willingly gave His life on the cross as a sacrificial payment for the sins of the whole world. All who believe this can have full assurance of their eternal Salvation and the Scriptures I mention above (plus so many others in the Word of God!) make this clear.

When Did You Die?

If you are reading this you are probably acknowledging that you are NOT DEAD YET! Right? Yet, if you believe on Christ as your Savior you are actually now dead! You already died when Christ died o the cross 2000 years ago.

Apostle Paul makes this amazing statement,

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20 KJV)

When Jesus died on that cross, He took our ‘old self’, our ‘old man’, and nailed it to the cross with Him and paid for our sins in our place. And so, when Jesus rose from the dead, so did we rise to newness of life. A believer’s eternal life does not start at our physical death. No. The above verse shows us that it starts from our very moment of Salvation and belief on Christ!

Christ truly does live within us now through the comforter; The Holy Spirit. From our very moment of belief on Christ we are SEALED and given an ‘earnest’ (which means ‘guaranteed down payment’) that one day we will receive our new resurrected bodies, free from the sin nature we struggle with right now.

“In whom ye also trusted, AFTER THAt YE HEARD the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also AFTER THAT YE BELIEVED, YE WERE SEALED with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the EARNEST of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1: 13-14 KJV)

Apostle Paul tells us this same thing and adds that once we recognize this truth, it should encourage us to start living as our NEW SELF, our NEW MAN. The ‘old self’ has died with Christ on the cross and our newly created Spirit has become the REAL US now. This is the Doctrine of the Two Natures of a Believer as Paul taught in Romans 7. We are a newly created spirit yet we have The Flesh, our sinful flesh body not yet resurrected and it causes a struggle between the new us, that is our ‘new self’, and the sin nature of the body with it’s lusts.

Paul show this in a beautiful way in Romans 6,

“For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:7-11 KJV)

Summarize:

1. Our ‘old man’, our ‘old self’ DIED on the cross as believers.

2. We should be living our lives in the light that God has MADE US the very righteousness of God , IN CHRIST. Our ‘new self’. BELIEVE THAT!

3. We are FREED from the penalty of our sin because all our sins, even future ones, were all nailed to the cross and paid for in full by Jesus The Christ.

4. We are called UNTO good works and right living after our Salvation because we are now in Christ and He is living through us in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Yet, these good works and deeds and right living are not requirements of our justification with God. Apostle Paul tells us to walk in the spirit to avoid the lusts of the flesh. We are to focus on our ‘new self’ and move forward with good works in gratitude for such a great Salvation we have been given.

What Does Grieving The Holy Spirit Mean?

Don Gerrity Q&A: Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30 KJV)

Notice the words ‘ARE SEALED’. It was a past event and you ARE SEALED forever. Your Salvation cannot be lost. Jesus paid it all my friends! What is meant by ‘grieving’ the Holy Spirit then? Does this mean when we sin that God will get angry with us? Is that what this means? Does it mean that if you have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you (which means you are in God’s eyes, Holy, Righteous and redeemed) that God will condemn you now because once again you failed and sinned in the flesh? It does not make much sense given the truth of the Scriptures shown does it?

To God, the real you is the Spirit. In your spirit being you are in Christ. You are ONE with Christ and without condemnation penalty for sin. Sinning does have consequences in life and possible loss of rewards at the Judgement Seat Of Belivers. But loss of Salvation is not a consequence for a believer. Salvation is eternal (John 3).

God already knew beforehand what sins you would commit. And He nailed them to the cross in Jesus. So your sins are already done with and put away from God. Jesus took that punishment. You will never be condemned for the sins Christ already took the punishment for. NEVER! Christ’s sacrifice was 100% sufficient to God the Father.

How Is The Holy Spirit Grieved When We Fail, And Sin?

Let’s use an analogy to see the truth. Before I was a father to my daughters, I did not understand this. But now I do! I get it! Here is me to my daughter, “Listen, do NOT run on ice. If you do you are going to get hurt physically and it will affect you badly.” So what happens when I get a call from the school that she hurt her ankle running on the ice in the playground? Am I ready to yell at her and disown her forever? Or am I firstly concerned for her as my daughter who I love? Do I feel grieved that she did not listen and she got hurt? Yes of course. I did warn her! Does that mean that I am going to disown her and kick her out of the family? Of course not.

Did she disobey me and cause this ankle issue? Yes she did. She has the consequence of the action to deal with (pain, healing time, loss of school studies, more time in school to catch up.) And what do I do? I try to help her in her healing and at the same time, she sees the consequence and hopefully learns from the experience.

God is not looking for robots. He gives us FREE WILL. In our fleshly bodies, we are going to be tempted. We can overcome the temptations but we will sometimes blow it. When we do it grieves the Holy Spirit. Of course it does! And the more a believer knows the Holy Spirit is within dwelling, that is He is right there while you are blowing it watching.. we do feel guilty afterwards right? God is not “out there somewhere”. He is ‘Emmanuel’ GOD WITHIN YOU and you cannot get much closer than that! Feeling guilty about a sin you commit is a sure way to know that the Holy Spirit is correcting you and disciplining you. It is not to condemn you of your sin as some are teaching these days. NO, it is out of love for you. When you blow it,

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” (1 John 2:1 KJV)

Do We Repent and Then Believe For Salvation? Or Do We Believe For Salvation And Then Repent To Keep Salvation?

Don Gerrity General OSAS Questions, Q&A: Repentance, Q&A: Salvation
Do We Repent and Then Believe For Salvation? Or Do We Believe For Salvation And Then Repent To Keep Salvation?

So many pulpits are teaching falsely what the word REPENT actually means in the Bible.

Repentance GOES BEFORE WE BELIEVE for Salvation. Salvation is not of our self righteous works. Do not confuse the free gift of Salvation with our sanctification and works after Salvation.

REPENT as a word simply means ‘change your mind’. The Greek word for the English word ‘repent’ is ‘metanoia’. It is not defined as ‘turn from your sin’. Should we be turning from sin?… of course! YES! But that is not what the word repent is defined as in the Bible and it is so important to understand this! Turning from your sins is a RESULT of repenting; it is not the repenting itself.

You can change any Scripture that says ‘repent’ with ‘change your mind’ and then see the real meaning of the passage based on the context of the passage.

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: REPENT ye, and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:15 KJV)

is same as….

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: CHANGE YOUR MIND ye, and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:15 KJV)

The free gift of Salvation is about BELIEF and not good works for our justification.

“For by GRACE are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES: it is the GIFT of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus UNTO GOOD WORKS, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10 KJV)

Using the word ‘unto’ means AFTER our Salvation good works will flow out of us from within, by the Holy Spirit through us. But it is not something we should boast about! Why? Because it is the work of CHRIST CRUCIFIED that has redeemed us and not our own works in any manner! And certainly not our own self righteous forced works.

Jesus Himself is very clear on our Salvation and how to be saved. The simplicity of the Gospel is mind boggling to some who just cannot believe they do not have to work their way to justification. But believing your works are required is the sin of Pride. Yes, the same sin the devil deceived Adam and Eve with.  The same sin that had Lucifer, closest to God’s throne, turned into Satan, the adversary of God and man.

Jesus is so clear in John 3 that all other Salvation Scriptures need to agree with it to see the proper interpretations.

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

(Don: This is referring to the Exodus of Moses’ day. The people had snakes biting and killing them. All they had to do was BELIEVE that looking upon the serpent raised up that the snakes bites would not kill them. This belief saved them. This is Jesus showing us an analogy that Salvation is by belief on His finished work alone and nothing else.)

That WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish, but have ETERNAL LIFE. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that BELIEVETH ON HIM is not condemned: but he that BELIEVETH NOT is condemned ALREADY, because he hath not BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:14-18 KJV)

Jesus no where in John 3 states that good works not never sinning again is a requirement of our justification and Salvation. Why add it then? This is JESUS talking here!

BELIEVE, BELIEVE, BELIEVE.

Not just believe Christ existed. Believe the Gospel. Believe Jesus is the Christ, God in the flesh, the foretold prophesied Messiah who never sinned and willingly died on the cross as punishment for OUR sins. Whosoever believes this is now ETERNALLY SAVED and SEALED by the Holy Spirit.

“In whom ye also trusted, AFTER that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also AFTER that YE BELIEVED, YE WERE SEALED with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the EARNEST (in Greek means ‘guaranteed down payment’) of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession (until our bodily resurrection), unto the praise of his glory. ” (Ephesians 1:13-14 bracket comments added by mean for further clarification)

BELIEVE!

“And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, BELIEVE ON the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Act 16:30-31 KJV)

What Did Jesus Mean Saying That We Should Seek First The Kingdom Of God And His Righteousness?

Don Gerrity Q&A: Christian Living

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” (Matthew 6:34-34 KJV)

As a believer in Christ who received the free gift of Salvation through the atonement for your sins provided by Jesus Christ on the cross do you still tend to condemn yourself? You try your best to do right by God but sometimes you  stumble and sin. Do you then condemn yourself when you sin and think that you must do something because I messed up again. Do you then start focusing on your own self righteousness to regain your Salvation? If so, you need to stop doing that.

Jesus said we are to seek the kingdom of God, yes! But we are not to seek after our own righteousness! Seek ye first HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS! Does that mean to be righteous in your good works ? In part, yes because it is right to do such out of gratitude for God’s grace and love. But not to regain Salvation. Not so that God does not reject you nor end your Salvation. Jesus sacrifice for sins was for the sins OF THE WHOLE WORLD!

“And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD.” (1 John 2:2 KJV)

Did you realize that Christ died not only for believer’s sins but for the sins of the whole world? In the Greek, ‘whole world’ is the word ‘holos’ and it’s meaning is ‘all, completely’. That means ALL OF THE SINS including all Past, present, and future sins. All means ALL right? And since for us, every sin we commit is future from the cross, even the sins we commit after our moment of accepting the free gift of Salvation through Christ are also completely paid for.

When Jesus died on the cross to pay for the sins of the whole world what did He cry out just before He expired physically? He cried out, ‘IT IS FINISHED‘ right? If you look at the Greek this was penned in the New Testament do you know that in the Greek it literally means ‘DEBT PAID IN FULL’? That is some truth isn’t it? A truth to shout about in great joy and gratitude!

For the believer, our justification and righteousness are now based on Christ, not us. Do you know that when God the Father looks on Jesus, He sees you and me? That to God we are one with Christ and Christ is one with the Father and we are all one together now? Great God Almighty! He has saved us to the utmost brothers and sisters in Christ. How righteous are we after our belief on Christ to save us? We are as righteous as Christ Himself. It does not feel like it and we still have this thing in our mind called The Flesh and it is weak. The old thoughts and beliefs of the old Spirit of Adam that died with Christ (Romans 6, Colossians 2). But God has declared this to be true regardless.

Just before the cross Jesus prayed for you and me and in this awesome prayer in John 17 Jesus prays to the Father,

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that THEY also may be ONE IN US: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 17: 20-23 KJV)

Regardless of our feelings of guilt and remorse, we have become one with God through Christ. As believers, we are now IN CHRIST completely. We are justified in Christ completely.

Paul wrote to the Corinthians to rebuke them for the way they were living after their Salvation. They are a very bad example of what a body of believers should be. Yet, Apostle Paul addressed them as MY BRETHREN. He addressed them as believers on Christ and as saved people by the blood of Christ. Paul makes this bold statement to them,

“For he hath MADE HIM TO BE SIN FOR US, who knew no sin; that we might BE MADE the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV)

We are MADE righteous by God through belief on Christ’s atonement and NOT by our own self righteous deeds. This is also true after we are saved. Our Salvation and justification with God is a gift of God’s grace. An unmerited favor. Now, God did not want to force anyone to accept this free gift. He wants a real relationship with us. He does not want robots without wanting a relationship with Him. Free will is important to God. Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world. His sacrifice was so great that it paid for the sins of even Adolf Hitler (I can hear you gasping). It paid for the sins of murderers, thieves, idolators, the sexually immoral and the list goes on and on. His sacrifice was that powerful and that complete. Christ’s payment was not a partial payment for sins; it was a full payment! But did Hitler accept the free gift of Salvation? I doubt it! And what about Judas Iscariot? He walked with Jesus and dinned with him during His Earthly ministry. Yet, Scriptures show us that in the end He was not saved because He did not believe in Christ as Saviour.

A gift is something to be accepted or you have not received the gift at all right? And so not all who have sinned will receive this free gift, even though Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world. Jesus puts it this way very clearly,

“That WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish, but have EVERLASTING LIFE. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that BELIEVETH ON HIM is not condemned: but he that BELIEVETH NOT is condemned ALREADY, because he hath not BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3: 15-18 KJV)

The gift of Salvation must be RECEIVED in order for it to take effect on a person. So how do we receive it? By using our self righteous efforts in deeds and Law keeping? NO, Jesus does not say that here! Jesus said, ‘WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH ON HIM”. That is how a person receives the free gift of Salvation and eternal life through Christ and when a person does believe this; oh my what a gift they really have!

Now since God bestowed on us such a great gift that we have believed and received, and knowing we have the very righteousness of God in Christ and we have been MADE one with God, why do we still have sin in our life? We try not to sin. We turn from our sin yet we still stumble and we just cannot seem to get rid of this ‘sin problem’.

First, BELIEVE your ‘sin problem’ has been already taken care of at the cross by Jesus. Your sins are already PAID IN FULL. Your Salvation and eternal life is fully intact, never to be revoked! It is all about your belief on Christ. You have been sealed by the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13-14).

In the book of Hebrews, the author is addressing Hebrew believers. In proper context and in all ten chapters of the book of Hebrews when it mentions the word ‘sin’ it is always referring to one specific sin and not our sins in general. This sin is the sin of UNBELIEF on Christ’s atonement as God in the flesh. As in 1 John, the author of Hebrews seems to be rebuking a heresy that false teachers were trying to get true Jewish believers to accept. This heresy is called Gnosticism.

Gnosticism in incompatible with Biblical Christianity because Gnostics do not believe that a person can be born again through Christ. They deny that we are saved because Christ died in our place and took on the punishment for our sins but instead rely on extra Biblical ‘secret knowledge’ they say has been imparted to them as if they are special somehow. This was a big heresy in the early church and is being shown as false. The Gnostics teachings were causing fear in some of the Jewish believers and had them questioning their faith on Christ alone for Salvation. And then there were also those still steeped in Jewish tradition who were telling believers that Christ’s sacrifice alone was not enough but that they needed to also follow the Law of Moses as well. Both of these false heresies were the sin of UNBELIEF which the author of Hebrews is addressing.

In Hebrews we find this amazing truth regarding our Salvation,

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 8:12 KJV)

My brothers and sisters in Christ, that is just how fully eradicated our sin debt now is in Christ. JUST BELIEVE IT! We are now the very righteousness of God in Christ. This is speaking of our newly created Spirit. Yet, we still have this sin nature called the Flesh in our body and all it wants to do for the most part, is sin.

Our newly created Spirit from God is HOLY, RIGHTEOUS and REDEEMED. It never sins and is PERFECT as the seed of God. This Spirit is the new us since our moment of becoming  ‘born again’ in the spirit. Jesus said we are born of the flesh and through Him we are born of the spirit (John 3).

The Apostle Paul taught us The Doctrine of The Two Natures In The MIND Of A Believer in Romans 7. Our newly created spirit is at war with The old, and now dead, Spirit of Adam sin nature called ‘The Flesh’,. Why?  because we have not yet received our new resurrected bodies at the Rapture of Believers. This new body will no longer have the sin nature and then, and only then can we say we have sinless perfection. Right now, we as Paul did, will struggle in this war within us between the Spirit and the Flesh in our MINDS. All the Scriptures about our walk AFTER receiving the gift of Salvation are about how to win these battles, even though we cannot win them all. Believers will Sin after Salvation and those teaching that sinless perfection is true are ignoring clear Scriptures like these in 1 John 1. Here again John is rebuking the false teachings of the Gnostics who did not believe we have sin nor that Jesus paid for our sins. But the truth is, as believers, we still have sin.

“If we say that we have no sin, WE DECEIVE OURSELVES, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8

“If we say that we have not sinned, WE MAKE HIM A LIAR, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:10 KJV)

So As Believers Can We Just Sin All We Want Without Consequences?

Does the amazing Grace of God mean that believers can just go on sinning however they want with no consequences? No it does not! The Grace of God is not a license to sin and there are consequences in this life (steal/jail/ murder/death penalty) and loss of rewards at the Bema Seat judgement of believers just after our bodily resurrection in the future. But the truth is if that is the attitude about the Grace of God that you have, you need to ask yourself if you truly understand it or if you are even saved. Why do I say that? Because just having an intellectual understanding of how we are saved is not the same as truly believing it and receiving it with thankfulness and gratitude. A person who has received and accepted Christ now has from the moment of belief been indwelled by the Holy Spirit or promise (Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV). The Holy Spirit will guide a person and convict a person of their sins. He will chastise a believer to help the person repent (which is defined by the Bible as ‘to change our mind’ about sin).

Remember when you were younger? Living with your parents. And you stole that cookie mom said not to have before dinner? Oh yeah.. OH YEAH! It was tasty right? Well, that is until mom caught you! “Off to your room for two days. You need to understand not to do that or you will get fat.”  Mom did it because she loves you and knows what is best for you. Now, did mom kick you out of the family until you made amends? Of course not. Your Salvation as a child of God is completely intact because the sin debt was already paid on the cross. Yet, God wants us to be transformed into the image of Christ which is the process of our sanctification.

What Should We Do Then?

We need to seek Christ’s righteousness and not our own. Seek the Kingdom of God and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Because we are IN CHRIST now and it is based on HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ALONE that we are saved and deemed Holy enough for  entrance to Heaven.

Apostle Paul taught that we should,

“…Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:17 KJV)

We need to realize that the temptations and lusts of the flesh are not US anymore. They are dead to us, and died at the cross. We are now the NEW US, the newly created Spirit of God within. We need to listen and know the spirit is the real us now as believers and then move forward to reject any evil thoughts and reject any temptations that come our way. I did not say it is easy! It is a real struggle at times for us all.

The devil is slinging them at us constantly! Did you know that not every thought that comes cross your mind is from the newly created Spirit in us. Once you realize this, it helps gives us power to overcome them by God’s power dwelling within us. Paul says we can do this by,

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” (2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV)

Can we do this perfectly and without fail?

Ask yourself who really has been able to? NO ONE! But it is what we should be doing to the best of our ability as believers saved by God’s Grace. We should be striving to avoid sin in our life. I mean, what good is it really?! Is any result of sin a good consequence in the end?

But we must acknowledge that we will fail and sin as well. The Flesh is weak in fighting temptations to sin. Our Spirit is willing because it is perfectly Holy and without sin but walking in our flesh we find it hard sometimes to resist temptations. We need to be diligent and know the devil and his fallen angels are scheming things around you so that you will sin. This sin after Salvation will not result in loss of your Salvation but if satan can get you focused on your failure to resist sin and get you feeling guilty about it, your focus is now on your SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS and not on Christ’s righteous that you were made into. You take your focus off what Christ is doing in your life and reaching others for the kingdom of God. That is the devil’s goal.

“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 6:41 KJV)

So focus on the truth that as a believer who accepted God’s atonement for sin through Christ; that you have been MADE the very righteousness of God IN Christ. Seek after His Righteousness – not yours. BELIEVE IT. Wake up everyday and acknowledge to God that you believe you are the righteousness of God in Christ. Ask God to empower you to resist the schemes of the devil and his fallen angels by the truth of the Word of God (Read Ephesians 6).

Remember what Jesus said,

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall MAKE YOU FREE.” (John 8: 31-32 KJV)

Bible Knowledge Matters In The Life Of A Believer!

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6 KJV)

Knowledge of the Word of God is POWER! God’s Word is not dead words. They are living and true and real. Believe that regardless of what your feeling are telling you. Feelings can be deceptive. The real truth is what he Bible says. So, just…BELIEVE IT.

Romans 5: Isn’t There Too Much Talk And Teaching About God’s Grace?

Don Gerrity Q&A: Grace Of God, Q&A: Salvation, Romans
Romans 5: Isn’t There Too Much Talk And Teaching About God’s Grace?

ROMANS 5

Salvation is God’s Grace FREE GIFT to us. Unmerited.
A Gift not to be worked for but to be received.

“But not as the offence, so also is the FREE GIFT. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the GRACE OF GOD, and THE GIFT BY GRACE, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath ABOUNDED unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is THE GIFT: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the FREE GIFT is of many offences UNTO JUSTIFICATION.  For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive ABUNDANCE OF GRACE and of the GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the FREE GIFT came upon all men UNTO JUSTIFICATION of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be MADE RIGHTEOUS.” (Romans 5:15-19 KJV)

How are we made righteous then? Is it by us doing good works? By not sinning (even though we should not)? By religious rituals? By attending a church building? By helping the poor? These are all things we should do after Salvation but NOT as a requirement of our justification and righteousness. No, instead out of great gratitude and love for what God did for us. For GOD’S GREAT love for us is so higher than any love that we can bestow on others, that HE became flesh (Jesus The Christ) and died horribly on the cross so that we might be saved and with Him for all eternity. No greater love is there than what God has done for us, even when we were once His enemies.

Some believers are teaching and telling believers… ‘there is too much talk about grace, Salvation is not eternal, you must add to what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. Add good works. Add religious rituals. Add doing good. Add not sinning again.’ The list goes on and on.. Yet what we really need is to realize God’s GRACE is ABOUNDING TOWARD US CONSTANTLY.

Believe it. Accept it. Walk in it. Walk in the Law of Liberty we have in Christ! He shed His blood so that we could have this GREAT GRACE.

From this truth will flow out of us good works. Not forced good works to keep us saved! No! Good works with the right motive and that motive is showing grace to others and sharing what God has done for us.

1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins”

Don Gerrity John | 1 John, Q&A: Difficult Passages
1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins”

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 KJV)

Many people think this verse is saying that we must continually ask for forgiveness of sins we commit after our moment of belief on Christ and after receiving the free gift of Salvation through Christ, or else they will lose Salvation. But is this true? The answer is an emphatic, no.

It is important to understand that the context of John’s letter is to thwart a heresy that false teachers were trying to get true believers to accept. This heresy is called Gnosticism. This is the sin that John is referring too in his letter. Those believing this heresy.

Gnosticism in incompatible with Biblical Christianity because Gnostics do not believe that a person can be born again through Christ. They deny that we are saved because Christ died in our place and took on the punishment for our sins but instead rely on extra Biblical ‘secret knowledge’ they say has been imparted to them as if they are special somehow. The Gnostics believed that there was no such thing as sin and that we do not sin. This was a big heresy in the early church and is being shown as false by John.

The Gnostics teachings were causing fear in some of the believers and had them questioning their faith on Christ alone for Salvation. Another of the Gnostics claims was that Jesus did not really come in the flesh and that Jesus was not God. John puts an end to that argument from the get go stating very clearly Jesus was real and did come in the flesh! John says WE HAVE SEEN WITH OUR EYES and TOUCHED WITH OUR HANDS. They had first hand knowledge. They seen and touched Jesus when He rose fro the dead. John puts an emphatic end to the belief of the Gnostics that Jesus was not here in the flesh as the Son of God that died and paid for our sins and rose again.

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
(1 John 1:1-3 KJV)

John then goes on to keep destroying the beliefs of the Gnostics and to eradicate the fear it brought to believers of Christ stating he is writing this for the believer’s so that their JOY MAY BE FULL. John seeks to restore their full belief and assurance in Christ alone for their Salvation.

“And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:4-7 KJV)

Another good point here is to acknowledge that John is not only addressing believers in this passage as many believe. In fact, he is addressing the Gnostics and believers with emphasis to having Gnostics change their mind (repent) of their wrong beliefs and for believers to keep full assurance of their Salvation. The use of the word WE here does not mean it is believers only. Why? Let me give you an example:

Your best friend is about to steal something from a store. You see trouble. You say to him, “Hey brother, WE do not want to do that. It is wrong and could send you to jail and wreck your life.”  Now, were you going to steal or was your friend the one doing something wrong? You were right and he was wrong….right? So why use the word WE? It is something people do to be gracious. That’s what is  going on here in 1 John 1. John is telling the Gnostics they are wrong and the believers to keep their assurance of Salvation. This message benefits both believer and Gnostic. We know John is also addressing Gnostics because we read, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:“. What is John saying here? He is addressing the Gnostics who are saying they are saved but are not believing in the fact they have sin nor that Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world on the cross. They think they are living in light but they are living in darkness, without light.

The key to understanding this passage of Scripture is in the understanding what it means to walk in the light and walk in the darkness. John is giving a comparison here to be sure that the one reading he letter is confident that they are truly saved. He uses the contrast of dark verse light to achieve this.

+ Walking In The Light

Jesus is the ‘light of the world’ (John 8:12) and so walking in the light is simply believing on Christ as your Savior. Believing that we have sins. That the sins have to be paid for and punished. That God became flesh in the person of Jesus The Christ, died on the cross, paying for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2) and then rose from the dead. That all who believe this by faith and belief have all their sins forgiven.

Apostle Paul makes the Gospel very simple when he wrote to the Corinthian church,

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;  By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4 KJV)

This is the Gospel of the Grace of God through Jesus Christ. A person is walking in the light from the very moment they became born again by belief in Christ alone for Salvation which is not of ourselves nor works of any kind (Ephesians 2:8-9).

What if a believer sins? Well , he is a person walking in the light yet sinned. The believer is still in the light. Why? Well when we go to 1 John 2:12 (KJV) we read, “I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you FOR HIS NAME’s SAKE.”  We see in Hebrews this is supported as well where it states clearly that “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL.” (Hebrews 10:10 KJV) and in Colossians that we are (present tense) COMPLETE IN CHRIST (Colossians 2:10). Should we just ignore our sin then? No. We strive to not sin. But the point here is that those walking in the light are those who acknowledge they have sin and confess (agree) with God they are sinners and by faith in Christ alone in HIS finished work on the cross, atoning for our sins, and by His death and His Resurrection, we are freed from the debt of our sins as believers. 1 John 1:9 is NOT saying we need to confess every sigle sin or a sin is not forgiven. Not at all.

+ Walking In Darkness

This is the state of every person who has not yet accepted the free gift of Salvation through Christ. They walk in darkness because they have not come to the knowledge of the TRUTH in Christ and accepted the free gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is not dwelling in them nor guiding them.

The Gnostics were saying they were saved people, yet they were walking in darkness because they did not believe that we sin nor that Jesus as the only begotten Son of God, who is God, came in the flesh and died for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD – ALL SIN FROM ALL OF TIME (1 John 2:2). They said they were saved but the Holy Spirit was not even indwelling them. This is still going on today! False religions claiming they are saved people as members, but they are walking in darkness. Such as Scientology, for just one example.

This is why the teaching of falling in and out of Salvation is completely wrong when reading 1 John 1:9. A person is only saved by the Grace filled free gift of God through Christ’s atonement for sin or they are living and believing they require good works and never sinning. It cannot be both! In John 3, Jesus is very clear and simple about how a person is forgiven of their sins and saved for all eternity and the word ‘good works’ nor ‘sin’ is not mentioned.

“He that BELIEVETH ON HIM is not condemned: but he that BELIEVETH NOT is condemned ALREADY, because he hath not BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18 KJV)

Apostle Paul also acknowledges this truth stating,

“For by grace are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES: it is the GIFT OF GOD: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

Many teach that they must CONFESS their sins after Salvation or they will not be forgiven sins not confessed. The thing is John NEVER STATES THIS in 1 John 1, even if a pulpit is teaching that falsely. 1 John 1 is about encouraging the believers that the Gnostics teachings are completely FALSE and showing the Gnostics they are flat wrong thinking they are saved without Christ. Yet, they read the word ‘CONFESS’ in Scriptures as if it means to ‘ASK FOR FORGIVENESS’ but that is not how the Bible defines the word ‘CONFESS’. A believer’s sins were COMPLETELY forgiven and the Holy Spirit comes and indwells the person from the very moment of belief as we see in Ephesians where we read,

“In whom ye also trusted, AFTER that YE HEARD the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that YE BELIEVED, YE WERE SEALED with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the EARNEST (don: means guaranteed down payment) of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV)

Again here we see the word BELIEVE as the way to be saved just as in John 3 when Jesus Himself stated so. Peter says the same things to the Jews when he told them that they crucified Christ and that HE was really the Lord God. It ‘pricked’ them in their hearts because once they realized this as truth, some were very sorry and fearful. Peter says to them,

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

Then Peter said unto them, Repent (Added for Greek meaning: change your mind), and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” (Act 2:36-39 KJV)

We need to use the correct Biblical definition for the word ‘confess’. The Greek for the word ‘confess’ in the New Testament is ‘homologeō’ and has a meaning of ‘to say the same thing as another, i.e. to agree with, assent’. To confess is to agree with God that you did and have sin. We know all our sins were already forgiven, even our future sins because all sins are future to the cross. When we confess, we basically say to God, ‘God.. I blew it again and sinned. Thank you for your amazing grace and for already paying for this sin on that cross for me. I have remorse about this sin. Please help me stop this by the Holy Spirit.’ Do you think that is a prayer that God will honor? Yes, He will. This is proper belief and gives all the glory to God where it belongs! The process of our Sanctification takes time. In fact, a lifetime! Yet we are still saved by the grace of God through our BELIEF on Christ alone.

Look how Paul uses the word ‘confess’ in Romans 10 KJV where we read,

“That if thou shalt CONFESS with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt BELIEVE in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man BELIEVETH unto righteousness; and with the mouth CONFESSION is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever BELIEVETH on him shall not be ashamed.“

We also need to use the correct Biblical meaning for the word ‘repent’ as well, which means ‘ change your mind’ in the Greek. It is not Biblically defined as the modern dictionary states. It does not mean ‘turn from your sin’ nor ‘to be penitent’. Yes, we should turn from our sins and I am not saying otherwise. The Holy Spirit will convict us to. The reading of the Word of God for the renewing of our mind will also. Our newly created Spirit wars with our flesh for us to turn from our sins. Perfectly? Not yet. It is a real struggle! (Romans 7) However, we cannot have sinless perfection until our bodily resurrection when the sin nature will no longer exist within us. However, the definition of the word ‘repent’ in the Bible is not ‘turn from your sin’; it is ‘change your mind’. By changing our mind about sins we should be turning from sin but the repenting is not the turning from sin. The turning from sin is a result of repenting; that is changing of mind. And Apostle Paul tells us to renew our mind by the Word of God.

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2 KJV)

I hope this helps to clarify 1 John 1:9 by using the proper context.

God bless.

1 Corinthians 6: 9-10: ‘shall not inherit the kingdom of God’

Don Gerrity Corinthians, Q&A: Difficult Passages
1 Corinthians 6: 9-10: ‘shall not inherit the kingdom of God’

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. ” (1 Cor. 6:9-10 KJV)

I see this two verses of Scripture misused so often to discredit the Doctrine Of Eternal Salvation. Reading this by itself without proper context it certainly does seem like Apostle Paul is refuting the believers eternal security. However, this in no way discredits OSAS!   I find it very convenient that those using this Scripture to discredit OSAS do not include the very next verse! And it is such an important verse to the meaning of this!

Verse 9-10 Is All About Those Not Born Again

Apostle Paul is contrasting a unsaved person to a saved person and nothing else. Verse 9-10 is talking about an unbeliever in Christ. They have not accepted the only atonement for their sins and so their sin debt remains and God will have to judge them for their sins. And the wages of sin is eternal death. Without belief on Christ for forgiveness of sins a person is headed for God’s judgement at the White Throne Judgement of the unredeemed and headed for a place called hell. God created hell for ‘the devil and his angels’ (Matthew 25:41) who cannot be redeemed. Yet without accepting Gods gift of Salvation through Christ, they too have sided with the devil and his angels and will also be judged for their sins committed in life. God does NOT want you to go to hell! So much so He sent His only Son (God in the Flesh) to take the punishment that we deserve so we could be forgiven and meet His attribute of Holiness and Justice. That is the Gospel of our Salvation.

Verse 11 Is The Good News For Born Again Believers!

Verse 11 reads, “And such WERE some of you: but YE ARE WASHED, but YE ARE SANCTIFIED, but YE ARE JUSTIFIED in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Cor. 6:11 KJV)

Through belief on Christ alone in faith and the only atonement for sins through Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, who is God in the flesh, who lived a sinless life and bore the punishment for the sins of the whole world on the cross a person becomes 100% FORGIVEN and justified in Christ. Such a person has become a believer by accepting the FREE GIFT of Eternal life through what Christ has accomplished on the cross.

Here Apostle Paul tell us that once a person believes on Christ alone for their Salvation without works required (Ephesians 2:8-9), the person is WASHED. Our sin debt has been eradicating forever! A believers has also been SANCTIFIED (set apart and deemed Holy) and JUSTIFIED (deemed innocent with sins already paid for by Christ on the cross.

Paul also tells us,

“For by GRACE are ye saved THOROUGH FAITH; and that NOT of yourselves: it is the GIFT of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should BOAST.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” (Galatians 2:16 KJV)

Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. (Romans 4:4-5 KJV)

Paul is not flip flopping in his teachings on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul is just stating the same thing. Salvation is not by our works nor deeds but through belief on Christ alone for our Salvation and forgiveness of sins.  The Corinthians church was a very bad example of a group of believers and they were doing  things very shocking and sinful. Paul is rebuking them, yes. Yet Paul also addresses them as BRETHREN, a term for saved believers and is encouraging them to walk by the newly spirit we have received at our moment of Salvation and not by the flesh because the newly created Spirit is the new us.

Paul says to the Corinthians the same as t the Galatians  that we should “…Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16 KJV)